Technology and Digital at NHSBT

Not all heroes are on the front line

Everything we do at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) begins with our donors. Whether they donate whole blood, platelets, organs or tissue, we need to be able to accurately and efficiently collect and manage their information. This is critical in enabling us to save and improve more lives.

Our IT teams are at the heart of this process. Sensitive data such as medical history, diagnostic test results and organ matches need to be securely stored in intuitively designed databases, which aid clinical decision-making. The more streamlined the processes, the quicker our clinicians are able to respond to patient and donor needs. For example, our technology helps Organ Donation and Transplantation teams honour the wishes of donors by effectively matching precious, life-giving organs to desperately ill patients.

Radical changes, cutting edge technology and new, innovative tools are transforming the way we work and the services we offer.

Help shape our future

NHSBT is a world leader in delivering a safe and sufficient blood supply and we’re constantly seeking new ways to increase productivity and efficiency.

Our technology functions support the consent process within Organ Donation and Transplantation by ensuring that we can efficiently collect all of the relevant information about the donor and their medical history; accurately record diagnostic tests and match the organs to a potential recipient; and provide that information to the clinicians in an accessible manner to aid their clinical decision making.

Like many organisations, we have developed technologies over time to support our specific needs. But the digital world is constantly evolving and customers are always expecting more. To meet these changing demands, we have developed a new IT Strategic Framework. This will guide a series of substantial investments to radically transform both the technology we operate and the way in which we deliver our services.

Our objective is to move to up-to-date technologies right across our business, with a platform centric and cloud-based approach to the delivery of business solutions. This will be developed using increasingly agile methodologies and operated in an ITIL compliant service framework.

Delivering against these objectives opens the door to fresh and exciting challenges. We are looking for new skills and capabilities. We need to change our thinking and become familiar with different technologies. At the same time, we need to ensure that we protect and maintain our business critical operational services throughout the transition.